Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson dies at 95

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- During his 95 years, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson went from fan to "Foolish Club" member to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, enjoying every step along the way.

The NFL lost the person regarded as the league's "conscience" on Tuesday, when Wilson died at his home around 1:40 p.m. Bills president Russ Brandon announced Wilson's death at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando.

His death resonated among the owners -- from old to new. Wilson played an integral role in establishing the modern game, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

In 1959, Wilson founded the Bills in helping establish the upstart American Football League, whose owners were dubbed "The Foolish Club" for having the chutzpah to challenge the NFL. Some five years later, Wilson played an influential role in setting the framework of the two leagues' merger.

"Ralph Wilson was a driving force in developing pro football into America's most popular sport," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "Ralph always brought a principled and common-sense approach to issues."

Patriots owner Robert Kraft released a statement saying how grateful he was for how Wilson welcomed him to the NFL, adding: "I will miss him."

The last surviving member of the original AFL owners, Wilson died at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., said Mary Mazur, spokeswoman for the Wayne County medical examiner's office. He had been receiving home hospice care.

Wilson had been in failing health since having hip surgery in 2011.

Advertisement

Though he spent much of his time at his home in suburban Detroit, he attended Hall of Fame induction weekends. He was a regular at Bills home games since founding the franchise, but had not been there since going to one game in 2010.

Wilson gave up daily oversight of the club on Jan. 1, 2013, when he relinquished the president's title to Brandon.

"No one loves this game more than Ralph Wilson," Brandon said. "It's very tough. What he's' meant to the entire organization. He's our leader, our mentor our friend. How he loves his players and loved our community. Special guy. They just don't make them like Ralph Wilson."

Wilson earned a well-established reputation for loyalty to fans and the stands he took against franchise relocation.

Though he butted heads several times with late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, it did not affect their friendship.

As Davis said in 2009: "There were a lot of guys saying (Steelers owner Dan) Rooney was the conscience. But certainly, Mr. Wilson was more of a conscience of the league."

Wilson also earned the respect of his former players.

"I'm broken-hearted," Bills receiver-turned-broadcaster Steve Tasker said. "I had a lot of respect for him and I owed a lot of my success professionally and personally to him and this organization. I never forgot that, and I never will."

Wilson's Bills have never won a Super Bowl. They came close in the early 1990s, when the Marv Levy-coached and Jim Kelly-quarterbacked teams won four consecutive AFC championships, but lost each time.

The Bills have not made the playoffs since 1999 and their 14-year postseason drought ranks as the NFL's longest active streak.

In 2010, with the Bills 0-5, Wilson began an interview with The Associated Press with an apology. "I want to apologize for this phone system," Wilson said, with a familiar chuckle. "It's almost as bad as my team."

The future of the team is now in the hands of Brandon and Wilson's second-in-command, Bills treasurer Jeffrey Littmann. For the meantime, the Bills are expected to be placed in a trust before eventually being sold.

Wilson expressed no interest of leaving the team to his family. He is survived by wife Mary, daughter Christy Wilson-Hofmann, who serves as a Bills consultant. There's also niece Mary Owen, who serves on several NFL committees while working as the team's executive vice president of strategic planning.

Kelly has expressed interest in buying the franchise and has previously said he's assembled a group of investors.

Kelly's health, however, has become an issue this week. He is expected to have surgery for a second time in a year following the recurrence of cancer that his wife described as aggressive and "starting to spread."

Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula is also considered a candidate to purchase the Bills and keep them in Buffalo.

That doesn't remove the possibility of outside interests making offers and relocating the team to larger markets such as Los Angeles or nearby Toronto.

The Bills' future in Orchard Park is secure for the short term. The team negotiated a 10-year lease in December 2012 with the state and county to continue playing at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

It's a $271 million deal, of which $130 million will be committed to upgrading an aging stadium that opened in 1973.

Under Wilson, the Bills produced 10 Hall of Famers, including himself and Smith. The others were Kelly, Levy, Thurman Thomas, O.J. Simpson, offensive linemen Billy Shaw and Joe DeLamielleure, receiver James Lofton and receiver Andre Reed, who will be inducted this year.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.

NEW YORK (AP) — Chrissie Hynde will tell the story of her life, with all its ups and downs. Penguin Random House announced Tuesday that the Pretenders singer was working on an "an incredibly frank" memoir that will come out Sept. Full Story